What If?
by ChaoticxTheoreticals
Summary: What if Remus Lupin had a love before Tonks? And how exactly did James Potter win over Lily Evans? The Marauders' Seventh Year.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer – **Anything that you recognize does not belong to me. If it did; Fred Weasley would still be perfectly alive.

I wrote this story forever ago, and I always felt like it wasn't up to my normal writing standards. So I decided to give it a go and reboot the whole thing. I'm going to try and have the next chapter up next week, but since I have exams, no promises. If you'd like to beta, that'd be awesome. I could use someone to kick me in the butt and check continuity. Thanks for reading the all new What If?

Prologue: The Bet

"Prongs! Moony! Wormy!" A tall, black-haired boy pushed his way through the throng of misty-eyed parents of First Years and envious younger siblings. He was gangly and lean built, but graceful from generations of aristocratic breeding. His long hair had once been neatly brushed, but now stuck up about his head from the whooshing of trains and frantic running in the enormous King's Cross station. He had been dying for this day for a month and a half. A month and a half of grouchy house elves, painful hexes by an equally irritable cousin(although he could argue irritable and replace it with downright, soul-crushing, fiery depths of Hell evil), and parents so obviously and embarrassingly manipulative that he didn't know whether to laugh or try and run away again when they attempted a fourth talk at dinner. For some reason they still thought there was hope of adding another slimy Death Eater to the 'most noble house of Black'.

He really couldn't even begin to put in words just how happy he was to see the faces of the friends who had become like brothers to him, and the one that basically was, after taking him in. In fact, that one currently was standing with most of Sirius' things, since the latter had wanted to pack minimally in case he simply couldn't take his family. Which he hadn't. But he also hadn't left. If Sirius had anything, it was honor, and he had promised his parents that he would stay with him for the second half of summer. And he had. And hated every second of it with a burning that sometimes scared even him. Were you supposed to dislike your family so strongly? Be happy that you never really saw them anymore? To feel more comfortable with your best friend's parents than your own? He sometimes felt like there was something wrong with him, a defect that set him apart and planted him directly in the middle of the group of charming misfits that were his best friends. Nevertheless, Sirius felt a surge of the sense of safety he only got when he saw their faces.

Three heads popped up at his yelling, and three identical grins appeared on each face, and he breathed a huge sigh of relief. Sirius took them all in. James, the quintessential effortless cool guy. He stood with his hands in his pockets, slightly leaned back and his hair perfectly mussed. The corner of his mouth was still quirked to finish a sentence to Remus, but his eyes managed to hold both a warm glow and a glint that meant that the sentence wasn't entirely innocent. Or, at least what professors deemed innocent. Remus stood tallest, intelligent, yellowy-hazel eyes lighting up as he caught sight of the last Marauder. If James was able to portray effortlessness, Remus had an air that let everyone know he was much smarter than they, but without a neurosis to prove it every three seconds. There was a book tucked under his right arm, and Sirius knew there were much more in his cases. Remus didn't care much for fashion statements, but more for toting his personal library around with him.

He tended to blend, but not in a bad way. Just in the way that when you saw him, unlike James and Sirius, it wasn't immediately clear that his intent was to blow something up. And then Peter. He always just got the little tinge of annoyance at the weaker boy; sometimes his practically worshipping the ground he and the other two Marauders, but especially James, walked on was annoying. But, there were some good qualities. The watery, small eyes looked up at him as though he were God. But Sirius had no time for that. He smiled broadly at his friends, -with a conspiratorial wink at James, but his best friend had no time to react as his best friend was then immediately magnetized to the redhaired vision getting on the train with her friends. James' goddess, the girl he had been after since their second year. As he reached them, Sirius closed his friend's mouth with a click, and James gave his best smarmy smile. Sirius had a proposal, but for now, that could wait. James was too far gone.

James, as always, was drawn to Lily. He waved a hand at his friends, with a half-glance at his friends and a 'Well, come on lads,' he boarded the train after her. The others, with a shared exasperation, followed after him, and James grinned and strutted into the compartment across from Lily's. He ran his hand through his hair to make it even messier, hoping she noticed. She didn't. Sighing and giving up for the moment, he put his trunk above him and sat down, making sure he was in full view of Evans. Sirius sauntered in after him, taking his place at James' side, but James hardly noticed. Lily Evans was just…intoxicating. She flipped her wine-colored hair and laughed with her friends, and James wish he could have heard what she said that made them laugh. She was so smart, and pretty, and unattainable that it drove him absolutely mad. She was the one girl in Hogwarts he couldn't woo with the considerable force of his boyish charm. But suddenly, ruining his rare moment of uninterrupted Lily-watching, there were two fingers snapping in front of his face. He shook his shaggy hair.

"What, Padfoot? You're ruining my gaze time, mate. The apocalypse better be happening or something."

"Nope. But this is better. I got bored at my parents' and had a fantastical idea."

"What is it Sirius?" Peter asked his squeaky voice. Appropriate, really, James thought whimsically.

"Well," He began. "I was thinking. We all have some serious relationship issues. The fact I chase tail more than a spastic dog, James only wants that one," he jerked his thumb at Lily, who happened to look over, but Sirius only winked and continued, "Remus doesn't give anyone a chance, 'cause of the fuzz, and Peter, well, you just don't do very well. I was thinking we could turn it into a bet." Sirius looked very assured of himself, smiling, black hair falling roguishly into his gray eyes. Remus looked terrified, but covered it up with a practiced ease. If they were going to try and make him do what he thought they were going to to try and make him do…James piped up.

"Oh, that's easy. Sirius, you have to get your sorry arse in a committed relationship for three months. Decently difficult for you, with your personal record of two weeks," Sirius only gave him a smarmy grin, James rolled his eyes and went on, "I have to get yonder damsel, Peter has to get a girlfriend in general, and Remus…you have to find a girl you like enough to tell the truth to." Remus was back to being terrified. They were, and James was reading him like an open book. He was pretty sure Sirius' underlying plan here wasn't actually a bet, but an attempt to maneuver and corner their best friend into trusting someone outside themselves and a select few of the Hogwarts faculty. Sirius gave him a subtle wink, and he knew he had been right.

"So, what will the winnings be?" Remus shrugged.

"Twenty galleons to the winner?" James knew Remus wasn't stupid. He had caught on to his friends' scheme, and was resigned to. Or, maybe, -hopefully- he actually wanted to do it, deep down? Find a good bird he could trust enough to tell that every time a full moon popped out, he turned into a hairy monster fit for nightmares, and she'd take it with a grain of salt? Granted, no one that awesome -aside from Lily, and she was off limits- immediately came to mind, but perhaps there was a diamond in the rough outside of his and Sirius' many flings. He stood up.

"I think I shall try to win right now." His friends groaned, James shrugged. Then he swaggered across the aisle, opening up the compartment door.

"Say, Evans. Look, my friend Sirius over there said you'd never say yes to me. Prove him wrong? Hogsmeade? Two weeks from now?" James smiled crookedly, assuredly making the other girls in the compartment swoon. Except Lily.

"Well, Potter. He was right. No." She said charmingly. Without skipping a beat, James tossed her a Chocolate Frog.

"My sources say you like those. And I won't give up, Evans." He exited, while Lily eyed the candy.

"Lily, you should trust him. Try it." Her friend Elizabeth Norry said. Lily warily opened the package, and hesitantly took a bite of the frog. Then waiting for something to happen, she sighed in relief.

"Looks like Potter actually _doesn't_ jinx everything he gets his wand on—AGH!" Lily screeched, as her dark red hair turned into a rainbow of flashing colors, changing every few seconds.

"_Potter!"_

"Yes Evans?" James said from his compartment. Lily stalked over.

"_My hair is a neon sign._"

"Yes, it is."

"Why the bloody hell did you do that?"

"Well, I jinxed the Frog so that after you ate it, the next time you spoke badly of me it would do that. You're far too predictable, Evans. I wanted to see how long it took for you to say my name, but I didn't anticipate how much better it would be screamed." He grinned cheekily. She whirled on him, and then his skin was bright yellow. Sirius fell off the seat laughing, and his robes were pink. Lily smiled to herself and went back to her compartment and slammed the door shut behind her.

"Looks like they're not the only ones who can jinx things." Her friends laughed as they watched the two boys struggle with the jinxes, the other two laughing.

_There's hope for this year after all, _Remus thought.


	2. Chapter 2

No reviews? That's rather depressing. Anyway, I finished this chapter early, so I decided to go ahead and throw it up. Enjoy! (Some feedback really would be awesome.)

_Chapter 1- Of Quidditch Captains and Ravenclaws_

For the whole of the first week at Hogwarts, James drove Lily almost to insanity. Though she had to admit; some of his pestering was rather creative, and to anyone else _possibly_ romantic. The key words being anyone else. And possibly. The whole sentence, really. So, warily, she entered the Great Hall for breakfast that morning, keeping an eye out for any 'Potter attacks'. She had dubbed him that after the late-night Astronomy class project last week. When he had ever so creatively added sparkles in the sky to look like stars, until they spelled her name. The other girls swooned for her, but Lily was just mad that it ruined her entire project, and had had to start all over. The methods only got worse from there.

Apparently, the Marauders apparently hadn't stumbled out of bed and down to breakfast yet, thankfully. She collapsed into a seat next to Elizabeth and Kate. Kate lifted an eyebrow at her friend's entertaining expression, spreading butter all over a piece of toast. Lily looked like a parent who had recently had a baby; circles under her eyes, and ears and senses perked to catch another sign of what they really didn't want to hear. A rather fitting analogy, if she did say so herself.

"No sign of Potter yet, or any of _them _for that matter." Lily gave her a half-smile, shoveling a number of waffles and strawberries onto her plate. "I do think he hit a record yesterday of the dozen most creative asks in a single day in history," she continued with a whine, mouth stuffed with her favorite fruit. Elizabeth and Kate looked at each other knowingly. It was their working theory that Lily was simply denying the truth.

But then the inevitable happened. A number of screams suddenly erupted as the all the food flashed rainbow colors, and started to spread through the entire Great Hall. All three girl's faces looked around in shock, a smile spreading over Kate's face. She, unlike her oblivious best friend, didn't hide the fact that she loved Potter and Co.'s pranks. As long as they were harmless enough, they usually brightened her day and made the monotony of day after day of classes and homework significantly more lively. Elizabeth, on the other hand, achieved a face that looked like she had just had a pickle with some lemon sprinkled liberally. Kate had decided a long time ago that she wouldn't ever really have spoken to the priggish girl if Lily hadn't. And Lily liked her, and she was nice enough, as far as girls who had the sense of adventure of a turtle. But Kate didn't really consider her a 'best friend'. She complained too much. About homework, whatever she was eating, her looks, other people, classes, everything. It was particularly annoying when she took it upon herself to complain about the things in Kate and Lily's lives.

Every Quidditch season it was, 'Kate, you're going to hurt yourself. Why don't you leave it to those silly boys.' and to Lily, it was living vicariously through complaining about Potter. Honestly, Kate thought she was jealous. As far as she knew, Elizabeth never had romantic trysts. Kate had had a few, herself. Getting found in a closet by Filch with her hands up Martin Clark's shirt, and a few other adventures throughout the years. But Lily's was much more interesting. Having the most popular boy in school madly in love with her, asking her out in all kids of creative and swoon worthy ways, and yet Lily remained aloof. Therefore, Elizabeth idolized her. Kate took a big bite of her toast and swigged down some cranberry juice to watch the morning's entertainment.

The Marauders swept in right as letters appeared in sparkling fireworks, 'Brought to you by the Marauders! P.S. Evans will you go out with Potter already? We did it like your hair!'. Lily fumed, noticing the huge smile on that idiot Black's face. She was going to kill them. Potter would have it more painful. Bright red from both anger and embarrassment, she kept her face down as she ate. Elizabeth comforted her quietly, while Kate was still looking about the room with admiration. McGonagall was striding towards the four boys, beckoning them to follow her immediately. While they did, Professor Dumbledore fixed the room and went with booming voice,

"Students! Quiet down." Although there was a twinkle of merriment in his eyes, he fixed the prank in one wave of his wand, and a few groans emitted from the students, others cheered.

"I wonder how much trouble they're in…" Kate said absentmindedly, dolloping some whipped cream on her own strawberries. She licked the rest off her spoon and hoped whatever the punishment was, it wouldn't be too bad. Not that the Marauders cared, but she played Quidditch with them, and if that got in the way…

"Well, I for one wish they'd be expelled and done with it." Lily snapped, still red in the face, rivaling her hair. It was a close competition, but her dark red hair won by a shade. Kate winked at Elizabeth. Before the year was over, Potter was going to win, and she knew it.

The Marauders followed their Professor into her room, where she turned around. They all tried their best to look remorseful, adorable little angels. And failed miserably.

"One Saturday of detention cleaning the trophy room. No magic." She smiled slightly. All four looked amazed. That was it? Sirius and James high-fived, but had the decency to look properly abashed when McGonagall shot them a look.

"Pettigrew, Black, and Lupin please leave. I must speak with Mr. Potter." Sirius and Remus looked at each other as if about to be defiant, but then exited; following Peter who had left the minute the words left her mouth. James swallowed.

"Mr. Potter, I was told to tell you you are the new Quidditch captain. Hold tryouts soon and pick a good team for our House. I trust you will do a good job." James smiled broadly, elated. He practically skipped out the door, running right into a frazzled girl with her arms loaded full of books. Vaguely he recognized her as a Ravenclaw in their year, and scurried to help her with her books so that he could go tell his best friends the news.

But even busy, his mischievous mind quickly put a hex on her Transfiguration book when she was not looking. She murmured a quick 'thank you' to him and he ran off down the hall to find his cohorts.

Later, that same girl exited the Ravenclaw common room, fuming. The hex had turned her rabbit-like, complete with ears, huge teeth, and fluffy tail, right in the middle of Transfiguration when she opened her book. That stupid Potter boy. She had not even thought that he might have pranked one of her books. The young nurse Madam Pomfrey had gotten it fixed, but it had taken an hour, half of which was spent in the common room. Now she was headed to lunch, only two books under her arm. Then, on her other side she felt herself being dragged into a dark closet. In front of her stood Severus Snape.

"What do you want? I'm hungry Severus."

"You know you need to be recruited. The Dark Lord is gathering servants, Avadne. You know your family has joined up. You are already drawing suspicion; you weren't sorted into Slytherin with the rest of us. You cannot escape. I can only make excuses for you for so long. In two weeks I will find you again. You had better be ready to join or be otherwise useful." He sneered, as usual, and swept out, billowing cloaks and all. Avadne glared after. When he was gone completely, she leaned on the wall, weary and exasperated. They would dog her.

With her family being pure-blood and Slytherin, she was wanted in the ranks. She knew if she did not join up; she would be disposed of. It was a lose-lose situation, and Avadne was not a violent person at heart. Killing and working Dark magic was not her forte and frankly, she did not want it to be. Occasionally she wondered if she was naught but a novel; sometimes her life, even to her seemed a little cliché. All she needed was romance. Now that was just funny. Who would ever want her? It was one thing to be blacklisted, an outsider for both the Slytherins and the Ravenclaws, but another thing entirely to not be pretty enough to make up for it. She was cursed with eternally frizzy blonde hair, that she attempted to tame every morning with a strict braid, headband, and an infinite amount of hairpins, not that any of that ever worked. She had glasses with thick black rims, hiding the only part of her she found remotely pretty, which happened to be her eyes, a yellowy hazel. Nevertheless, she was tall, gawky, and never ceased to run into things. Dorky didn't even begin to cover it. But dorky she was, and she had accepted that fact years ago. Better that than the girls with a thin gilding of class in the Slytherin house. Sometimes she didn't know whether she was unlucky with her looks or not. If she were pretty, different things would be expected of her.

She pondered Severus and his words. They were two totally different things. Everyone knew her family wanted her to marry Snape, or become close to him. It was obvious he was rising fast in the Dark Lord's ranks. But only she knew he had loved Lily Evans since the beginning of time. In Second Year, she had caught him, doodling her face in his notebook in a dark hallway one afternoon. He hadn't noticed for a long time, swirling her name and his, looking absolutely miserable. Avadne had felt bad for him, for once. She had been vaguely aware that he and Lily were friends, but it was one thing to have a friendly acquaintance with a Gryffindor, a whole different ballpark to be in love with her. But then Severus had turned around, and ever since they had had a tenuous deal. Make it seem like she was a good little Death Eater in the making, and she would tell no one about his little love life.

But his words today. Were true. She faced death if she refused. Dying was no fun. She had to postpone, make herself useful. It was just how. It would figure itself out, she assured herself, a little more bounce in her step as she entered the Great Hall, only to be met by snickers and whispered words. Tales of the prank had spread. Quickly, and trying to hide the flush in her face, she sat down at the Ravenclaw table.

She had very few friends, honestly, by few, it was basically just Severus, and being invited to dinner parties at various Slytherin mansions. No one associated with her. But now it was even more miserable. The people who occasionally did speak to her or include her were definitely not going to today. They were too busy laughing. She saw a sympathetic glance from Severus. So he knew then – but a sympathetic glance? Since when was that boy kind to anyone? Then she remembered. He hated Potter and his friends with a passion. He would maybe even get revenge for her. She held her head a little higher, and got to eating.


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own any of these lovely characters, but I do love tossing them around.

-,-

James held the tryouts a week later. He still hadn't given up even a little on Lily. He spent every evening with his friends, focusing their prank genius on acquiring-ladies genius.

Sirius was particularly good at it, but then again, Sirius was good at anything that involved the female gender. Overall, James was probably the most popular, but Sirius was by far the biggest ladykiller in the school.

He had never told a girl he loved her, he had hardly even ever told a girl he liked her. And there was certainly no gift-buying, no Valentine's Day celebrations, no anniversaries -not that they ever got far enough for those, unless the girl was counting each day as an anniversary-, and most of all, zero emotional commitment.

That was simply how he operated. James often wondered if it was legitimate dislike of relationships in general or if there was some underlying psychology. He really suspected the former. Sirius would have let something slip by that point in their relationship if it was anything more serious than just a general lack of regard for committing oneself to someone else.

James, however, had limited his adventures in the dark alcoves of Hogwarts. Ever since he had started chasing Lily, no one just added up. Sure, every now and then he got a bit carried away, but that was getting more and more far and inbetween, because of Lily. She certainly wouldn't give him a chance if she thought he was just out for another notch. Which she already thought. But no harm in trying to combat that theory.

He leaned against his broom like a cane and thought of that week's attempts at finally getting fair damsel to succumb to his efforts.

-Flashbacks-

_He had seen her in the Common Room. It was very late, and he had just gotten back from detention. Evans had been reading, and he had thrown the Invisibility Cloak he had tucked in his robes on. Quietly, he snuck behind her, and had peeked at her book. Then, he murmured a spell, and the book went from; _The childhood of Godric Gryffindor is widely speculated, the only time truly known was he walked up to a girl once and asked, 'Evans will you go out with me?' And she said, 'Of course, Potter'. _James had swept the Cloak back off in a hurry as she turned around, fuming. _

"_James Potter! How dare you! No, I say shove it in the only place you can't see.' Angrily, she had stormed up the girls' dormitory stairs. James grinned. At least she was not hexing him. Progress!_

_-.-_

_One day at lunch, she had 'knocked over' her tea, and it had spelled, 'Evans, how about now?' Now, _THAT _time however, James' robes were turned a bright pink and his hair shot up as if electrified. All he had deigned to say was,_

"_So, Evans. This is what I have to look like. I appreciate the taste, -or lack of it- but I'm afraid you'll just have to accept me for who I am." That had earned a few snickers from everywhere in the Great Hall. Lily had reddened and gone back to her meal._

_-.-_

_And then the most recent…he had – _

His broomstick suddenly collapsed, and James fell to the sound of snickers. Sirius was trying his best to look nonchalant, but shot James a wicked grin as he stood and brushed himself off.

While he had been reminiscing, all the Gryffindors wanting to be apart of the Quidditch team had showed up, and formed a crowded semicircle around their fallen captain. Sirius stepped forward and picked a bit of grass out of his best friend's hair.

"Glad you're still with us, mate." He tacked on, and James rolled his eyes. He surveyed the would-be Quidditch players with a practiced eye. Kate White was back, but he knew she was trying to switch from Chaser to Beater for a change of pace in her last year, so was Henry Pyle, one of their usual Chasers. Sirius was a Beater, and Alana Vell had been their Seeker for three years. James was the last Chaser.

So far, they for certain needed a Keeper, since their last had graduated, Kate White had to be tested as a Beater. He also was pretty sure he wanted to boot Pyle. He had gotten on the team in their Sixth Year because their former captain had been good mates with him, but he was an awful Chaser.

James finished and clapped his hands, the same as their Flying instructor in First Year. He glanced back to the list of names in his right hand, then to the expectant faces staring him down. Except for Sirius. Sirius was too busy staring at a colorful butterfly that had gone by his face, and was attempting to get it to land on his finger. James shook his head.

"All right. Now we're going to split up into teams. Some may have a few uneven players, but I just want to see an example of a practice game. Make sure everyone gets their shot. So, Black, Turner, Marlin, Smith, White up in the air!" The people trying out for the two Beater positions kicked off the ground, swinging their bats around, as if there were already a dozen bludgers zooming about.

"One group of three, and a set of two." James added, pointing a finger toward each side of the goal line. Sirius 'somehow' ended up near Kate, the only female in the Beater group. She made a face, but accepted him as a partner. Sirius glared at the other three, just to make it clear that they would be the remaining three group.

"Pyle, Ruiz, Grossman, Pullman, Dumas, Bray! Two groups of three. Then pair up with one of the sets of Beaters." Sirius stuck his tongue out happily at Pyle's back as he chose the other team of Beaters.

"Stroud, Crichton, Vell, Goldman! You guys are on your own when the Snitch is released. Lastly, McCaffrey, Oppel, Ibbotson, and Winters! Two pairs! And pick a team; you'll work the goals together as a duo. Now when I say, play the game as you normally would." He released the Snitch and the Bludgers, and then with a 'Go!' threw up the Quaffle. He settled on his broom near the stands.

A few minutes later he had the evident Beaters. Kate had been right to want to try out being a beater. And oddly enough for their last names, Sirius Black and Kate White worked together like a well-oiled machine, even though Sirius had never played Beater with her before.

The two of them were all over the place, creaming the other team with well-placed bludgers. Kate whacked a ball toward Sirius, who hit it himself and smacked Evan Ibbotson, an opposing Keeper, hard enough up side the head to make him quit. James looked over to catch Sirius looking at him with the best pleasepleaseplease expression he'd ever seen.

It wasn't necessary, because James already had every intention of putting Kate on as a Beater. So he nodded at his best friend, who whooped and went to nail Pyle successfully.

By that point, James pretty much had his team in mind. Only one or two was subject to change, but most were absolutely fantastic in the air, and James really couldn't wait to sic them on Slytherin.

An hour later, nineteen brooms came to a rest, exhausted. James nodded to let them know they had all done, for the most part, a good job. He definitely knew the team he wanted now.

"Results will be up in two days." Everyone cheered, some looked excited, others defeated, and one eyeing another potential player with more than a comradely stare. So it was James' turn to trip someone. Namely Sirius, who hit the ground with a satisfying thud. Vengeance achieved, he offered a hand. Sirius shrugged and said,

"Fair enough." But then he was completely enraptured again.

"Still with us?" "Yeah…" Sirius replied absentmindedly, still staring after Kate's arse as she walked back to the castle. After a couple more moments he snapped back to reality and asked excitedly,

"I made it, didn't I?" James laughed at his best friend.

"Obviously. You and White were really good out there."

"And they always say opposites attract…" He lifted his eyebrows suggestively, and James rolled his eyes.

"Why you always think with your testosterone I'll never figure out."

"Like you don't." They both laughed and Sirius threw a sweaty arm over James' shoulders companionably. Remus joined them on their way back to the Common Room, listening with the attentiveness only a real friend could provide when bombarded with all kinds of stories from the tryouts that sounded more like two three-year olds trying to describe it than two seventeen year olds.

- Next Day -

The Marauders lay in wait for Snivellus in the dungeons. James and Sirius wanted to celebrate by pranking their favorite person. And since they had seen him walking alone on the Marauder's Map a few minutes before, they figured now was the perfect time.

"Okay. Everyone knows what to do, right?" Sirius asked, looking so much like a super villain that James thought any moment he would rub his hands together and laugh maniacally.

"He should be coming anytime now…" Peter whispered, practically jumping up and down in excitement, and the other three shot him looks that clearly said, 'Shut up!' Peter reddened considerably and did what he was told, as usual.

"_Footsteps!_" James whispered furiously, and as the figure rounded the corner he shouted,

"_Levicorpus!" _Instantaneously Sirius joined him with an

"_Expelliarmus!" _And Remus cast the Hair Loss curse. Peter jumped to his feet and snapped a picture with the magical camera. But instead of Snape hanging by an invisible rope, it was Lily.

"Evans!" James cried, and ran underneath her as Sirius shouted the countercurse so that she fell into James' arms, and he immediately deposited her. Lily touched her bald head, then set to screaming at them. James was still mesmerized by the fact that he had held her in his arms, if only for a second. So, so close. And she had felt so, so good. Even though she looked murderous.

"I never thought you people would actually do this! Potter, is this revenge for me turning you down? Because I will make sure the entire school knows. Oh BOY will you guys pay for this!" In a huff, she stalked off, leaving four very shocked and rather frightened boys behind.

"I am _so _dead." James whispered, now over the fact that he had gotten to hold her, and forward to the fact she now despised him more than ever.

"She'll never go out with me now!"

"Oh come on James, it isn't that bad…if she doesn't know the countercurse to that spell you can fix it for her…" Peter tried to say comfortingly, but ended up doing quite the reverse as James slid down the wall in defeat, his head in his hands. Of course, then Snape came.

"What happened to Evans? I didn't know you'd drop low enough to start pranking the girls you chase, Potter." He snapped.

"Hey Snivelly, it was meant for _you_. _Furnunculus." _Sirius said defensively, as Snape ran for the Medical Wing with boils popping out all over him.

- A Few Hours Later -

Avadne sat at a table in the library, doing research for an essay she had for Charms. It wasn't due for a few weeks yet, but better safe than sorry. Or you know, lack of life. Either or.

Deeply engrossed, she did not hear the footsteps, or the voice that spoke to her. Not until someone tapped her on the shoulder and she whirled around, wand at the ready. Unfortunately for Remus, she recognized him as James' friend and pounced, furious, not caring in particular if Remus had anything to say.

"Look, I don't know what I did to you people, but if you're planning a prank you should forget about it now. As if my social life is not already screwed up. Thanks for that, by the way. Did you help him come up with the last one?" Remus was dumbstruck.

"What are you talking about?" He managed out, with his hands in front of him, defensively. Why in Merlin's name was she screaming at him?

"Oh yes. Act all innocent. Please. That makes it so much better. The least you could do is own up to it and be a proper man, if not gentleman. So who came up with the rabbit idea? You, Black or Potter?" She was glaring daggers at him. Now Remus understood.

"What did my friends do? Prank you?"

"Wow, the intellect. No wonder the professors all speak highly of the great Remus Lupin." Her voice was laced with such delicate yet cutting sarcasm, that in that moment, her parents would have been proud.

"I had nothing to do with it," He finally snapped quietly, then added,

"I was only going to ask if I might borrow that book when you're done. We're working on the same essay." He gestured to it then retreated to a different aisle of shelves.

Avadne's cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. She had not meant to take out her anger on him if he hadn't done it. It was time for her own retreat. She stood and packed her things, but left the book on the table.

Hopefully he would find it. As a peace offering. Not that she felt THAT bad. He was supposed to be extremely intelligent, so why was he choosing to hang around the troublemakers? Even though James was apparently far from stupid. And it took a fair amount of at least creativity to come up the things they did. But Remus was the one that had earned Head Boy. However, tt was well-known he spent most of his time in the Gryffindor Common Room, with his friends. As she left to find a different place to study, she did feel a bit better. It was nice to have ranted her feelings out, even if it was on the wrong person.

- Meanwhile-

Remus was scanning the shelves, for anything else useful. It wasn't the first time he had been associated with one of his friend's pranks, and usually he was. But that girl was absolutely crazy. Well, probably not. She had said something about a rabbit. Knowing James, that could mean anything, none of them pleasant. He could understand her frustration.

He made a mental note to ask James later what prank he had pulled on her. She was pretty upset. If James remembered, he'd ask him not to do anything to this girl anymore. She seemed frazzled enough as it was.

But he had other things to worry about, like how difficult the Charms essay was turning out to be. Thank Merlin he had gotten started early. Everyone else was going to be absolutely screwed. He was also beginning to realize how much he needed that book. It was the only one that had the information in it that he needed.

He was also certain that girl had probably taken it with her out of pure spite. But he decided to go check. Maybe she had cooled down and would let him use it. So he peeked cautiously around the corner of the bookcase, and was duly surprised to see the book left there, but the girl gone. Still in the pages were also little tags, showing where the important bits were.

Remus could not help but smile a little. Maybe she felt guilty for exploding on him or something. He thought about her, trying to assign a name to the face. Thinking of all the students in his Advanced Charms class, her name appeared in his mind's eye.

_Avadne. Avadne Laroche. _He also remembered she was an exceptionally smart Ravenclaw. Although he could think of her name, he couldn't think of anyone she was friends with. He wondered why. Tempted to curiosity, he thought about everywhere he had seen her. Why had he never seen her with anyone?

He thought everyone had friends at Hogwarts. He had even seen Snivelly hanging out with fellow Slytherins. So why was she always alone, on the off-chances that he saw her?

With a yawn that decided it was none of his business, he made his way back to the Head rooms and collapsed on the couch, looking at the book she had nicely left for him on the table. Unfortunately for Remus, he shared a dorm with a very, very angry Lily Evans.

-.-

**A/N – **Again, an early chapter. I added a full one thousand words to this chapter from the original, and like it so much better now. I basically just sat down and this chapter just flowed out. Also, as an extra little Easter egg to those of you paying attention, all of the last names of the people trying out for the Quidditch teams are authors, except for Sirius and Kate. Do you read any of the same books that I do? Let me know.

I appreciate the two reviews I got. So much thanks to Roxanne and imunleashingmyimagination13. Enjoy this chapter! Reviews, as always, are loved.

(I noticed my breaks weren't working in my first chapter, so hopefully these show up.)


	4. Chapter 4

A/N - Sorry this took so long, my internet has been completely out the past few days. Also, sorry about the length. This is a shorter one, but the next one will be HUGE. It's already close to four thousand words. So enjoy this bit of a teaser.

(And really guys? Three reviews?)

-_.-_

James rocketed out of bed. He was finally going to test his new team against real opponents. Well, Ravenclaw. They sorta counted. He had let his instincts make the decisions on who would join the Gryffindor Quidditch team. they always served him right, and so far they hadn't failed.

He had of course chosen Sirius and Kate, who were just off the charts phenomenal. They hadn't dropped their stride yet, even though they bickered like little kids. Mostly because it was painfully obvious to everyone but Kate that Sirius was trying real hard to get into her knickers. Or at the very least, her and her knickers into a nice, private broom closet. Or, James thought, there was the alternative that Sirius intended her to be the girl he won the bet with. He was trying an awful lot more than he did most girls, but that was because most girls weren't making an active effort to resist his seduction. So the frustration on both sides showed itself in the air - used frighteningly against their opponents.

Pyle was booted, and James was Chasing with Alex Dumas and Livvy Bray. Bray was absolutely ruthless, to the point James had had to check her off field. But if she kept it under rein, she was a force to be reckoned with. Alana Vell got Seeker again, she was just so good at it. She was tiny, and could move like a hummingbird, but like Bray, she was a spitfire. She didn't let anyone screw with her on the pitch.

Finally, Daniel Winters got Keeper. If anything, he was the calmest player on the field, and if there was such a thing as the perfect gentleman, it was Winters. Which meant the only position he could possibly play in Quidditch was Keeper, and he did it well. Calm came in handy when judging how to block a Quaffle, and there was no one that didn't like him.

Ravenclaw would have to do until he could joyfully cream Slytherin.

Jittery with excitement, he pulled on his clothes, noting Sirius' languorous attempts at making his hair somewhat presentable. He was always so nonchalant before every game. Normally, he was the most hyperactive out of the Marauders, but then again, Quidditch was the only thing he took seriously. Well, and his hair.

"Breakfast now?" The werewolf eventually ventured hopefully, adding snarkily,

"Or do you ladies have to check your hair one more time?"

"Nonsense," Sirius retorted. "My luscious hair looks amazing all the time," he grinned lazily, stepping away from the mirror. James chuckled. Remus shook his head, and held the door open for them, smirking.

"Ladies first,"

"Well then you better get going Moony." James replied, raising an eyebrow. Remus laughed and then all three left, Peter tagging along behind them. Everyone knew that was always Peter's rank. He would never truly fit in with his friends, as much as he tried. But that was the problem. James, Sirius, and even Remus had a confidence about them, a cool, almost arrogant swagger that dared anyone to challenge them. They could always rely on each other, and as far as they were concerned, that was just about all they needed. None of them really gave a snowflake in a blizzard what anyone thought of them. Peter did. He was constantly the one bringing up others' opinion.

Everything the boy did revolved around raising his status with everyone else. He tried to talk them into things that were 'cool', copied everything his friends said and tried to use it, stole Sirius' playful pick-up lines, but always instead of seeming suave and dorkably charming, he just came off creepy.

If the Marauders were less trusting, they would have seen the storm brewing.

They entered the Great Hall, and James and Sirius shared a significant look. Remus shook his head. "Oh no you don't. If you guys do anything stupid, McGonagall will take you off the team, and I'm not having my team lose to _Ravenclaws._" James snorted.

"McGonagall secretly likes us. It's Slughorn that wants us to go down. That stupid club."

"Well he _is _a Slytherin. Head of House. They are kinda famous for that Jamesie boy." Sirius winked at Kate, who he scooted in close to at the table.

"Good morning, ladies." Sirius said in the voice that made about twelve other girls in the immediate vicinity almost swoon. Kate started to get the dreamy look in her eye, but Lily shot daggers at her and she thought better of it. Even if she liked him, best not to let it show. So she steeled herself and settled for a smile, while Lily and Elizabeth completely ignored his presence.

"Ready for the game today?" James asked Kate and Sirius, who was stealthily trying to get his arm around her. She swatted his hand away, and nodded. Sirius pouted.

"Don't be such a baby, Black." Kate fended off another attack going to caress her hair.

"Only if you succumb to my incredible charm, White." He smiled his smarmiest grin. James cleared his throat, and both looked up.

"About the game, we can't let some of those blunders that happened at practice…"

Remus rolled his eyes and shifted to join Lily and Elizabeth's conversation about Ancient Runes. Which, actually, wasn't significantly more interesting than the obsessive Quidditch talk. So instead, his eyes floated around the Great Hall, landing on a sole figure at the Ravenclaw table. It was Avadne.

He didn't know why he was watching her. Maybe because she was sitting all by herself, again spiking his curiosity about her lack of noticeable friends. Or maybe it was because he never _had _noticed her before, and she was different. She wasn't apart of his group, nor was she staunchly against it. It seemed to be one way or the other with most people.

Remus impaled a waffle with his fork, and took a bite. He wondered idly if she'd be in the library again that night. _Maybe I'll go have a look…_

-A Few Hours Later, Quidditch Green-

"And here we are, first game of the year, Gryffindor against Ravenclaw!" Joe Kensington paused to let the crowd cheer, and then continued.

"Might I introduce your players? On the Ravenclaw side, Captain Sarah Penny! Beaters Alan Mear and Jon Bloom! Chasers Laurence Bennet, Karen Wilke, and Sam Finnigan! And lasssst but not least! Seeker Frank Matthews!" The Ravenclaw and Slytherin sides of the stadium erupted into cheers. Kensington was a fifth year Gryffindor, who was shorter than Lily, but had a voice that boomed like a giant, even without the magnifying effect.

"And now for the GRYFFINDORS!' He paused, allowing the even louder cheers go up.

"We've got Captain JAMES POTTER! Beaters Sirius Black," He was forced to pause as the two boys' fan club girls went up in huge squeals and cheers. "and Kate White, Chasers Alex Dumas, Livvy Bray, Keeper Daniel Winters. And finally, the beautiful, the graceful, the astounding, amazing-" McGonagall cleared her throat dangerously behind him.

"Alana Vell!" He saluted to her as she flew out, and she ignored him, a blush high on her cheeks. Mademoiselle Hooch made her way out to the field, eyeing the players. She gave her usual rules, the Slytherins booing a little, as the Captains flew forth and shook hands.

-Sirius' POV-

When the whistle was blown, he and Kate rocketed up high, to look for any Bludgers to knock at the unsuspecting Ravenclaws. He gave a cheeky grin to their Beaters, as one of the balls flew at him. Giving it a sound '_Thwack!'_ the other Beaters anticipated it near their players, instead it went towards Kate, who hit it and almost knocked Mear off his broom. Sirius smiled at her, she flew away. He shook his head.

A minute or so later, he could spot her blond head close to fifty feet below him, knocking the hell out of a bludger that would've cracked James in the head. Sirius thought he had never felt so attracted to a girl as he did right then. He forced his eyes back to the game, and vaguely heard cheering as Gryffindor scored, and Kensington making a comment about how beautiful Alana's raven tresses were in the wind.

His eyes immediately shifted over to lock on Vell, who was darting around like a dragonfly near the stands, feinting this way and that to confuse the other Seeker. James currently had the ball, then it was stolen from him by Bennet, who zoomed for the goals, making it past Winters' lunging hands. He cursed.

Bennet was their most powerful Chaser, he noticed. He made the 'o' sign with his fingers toward Kate. She nodded, and zoomed up to his level. They had developed their own secret set of hand signals, so that they could strategize without the opposing team knowing. 'O' was someone needed to be taken out.

"Bludger, there. Thirty degrees!" Kate called, and he did as she told him, trusting her judgment. Sure enough, the ball he hit as precisely as he could caught Bennet right in the chest, knocking him sturdily off his broom. He hung on with both hands as his broom swirled down, but James was waiting beneath to catch the Quaffle, and zoomed off.

He watched with interest as the Quaffle made its way from Bray to Dumas, stolen by Wilke, retrieved by Bray again, who scored. It was tied at thirty points each. Shaking his head, he was just about to hit another Bludger Wilke's way when he heard Kate scream.

In slow motion, he saw his fellow Beater falling off her broom. She was as limp as a rag, and the Bludger that was flying away had obviously hit her in the head. Without a second to think, he flew as fast as his broom would allow toward her crumpling body. A moment later, he realized with dread that he wasn't going to make it. Then there was a shadow by his side, and a force that tore the breath out of him, and realized his hands had let go of his broom, and his legs were slackening quick. Sirius tried to regain his hold, but it was too late. There was another pain in his ribs as he lunged one last time and missed, and fell like his partner.

He fumbled his wand out of his pocket, then realized he wasn't actually that far from Kate. She had been much higher in the air than he had, and he pointed his body like an arrow, desperately trying to catch up.

The crowd gasped, silent in anticipation. The game had frozen, watching the Gryffindor Beaters fall. James wanted to go after them, but he knew he wouldn't be fast enough, so he watched in horror. Kate was still unconscious, her cloak and limbs catching the air like they were trying to fly. Sirius was gaining. He smiled grimly. He'd get her, all right. But the ground was closing in much too fast. There was nothing he could do, but finally, he caught up, and snatched her about the waist. Her eyes slowly opened as he maneuvered beneath her.

Kate gasped as she realized what he was doing, and he gave her the same rather grim smile, not letting her struggle her way out of his grasp, and then the ground was fifty feet away. He cast a quick spell to mollify the ground, but it could still be fatal.

Forty.

She closed her eyes.

Thirty.

He steeled himself.

Twenty.

She gave up struggling.

Ten.

Sirius heard the crowd gasp, but that was no longer apart of his world.

Five.

He winced.

And then nothing but blackness.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N - I'm sorry this took so long. A vacation and my social life caught up with me, but I'm making up for it with a super huge chapter! This thing is well over four thousand words, so enjoy. Also, if anyone would like to help me beta, just pop over a message. Hope you like!

-Hospital Wing-

"He's waking up!" Someone whispered excitedly. Vaguely, through the pain and the pounding in his head, he recognized it as Alana Vell.

"Sirius?" Remus' raspy voice grated on the headache. "Can you hear me?" Sirius shook his head, and groaned. Hesitantly, he opened one eye, then immediately shut it again. The light was blinding and unbelievably painful. He groaned again.

"Sirius?" A more feminine voice this time. Kate. A pressure came off his hand that he hadn't noticed. He tried his best not to grin like an idiot. _She so wants me. _He tried opening his eyes again, with marginally less pain, and there weren't six Remuses. Still, though, he opened them only slowly, until suddenly someone seemed to catch the hint, and there was darkness over his eyes as the sunglasses settled. He sighed in relief.

"Thanks." His voice was so raspy that he didn't realize it was his own at first. He cleared his throat, as his eyes focused one each person in the room. Kate was first. She looked awful. Her hair was in the sloppiest ponytail he'd ever seen, she had absolutely no makeup on, and she was clearly still in sleep clothes. A blanket was even wrapped around her shoulders. _Did she sleep here?_

"D-did….did we win?" He asked, his trademark grin spreading across his face, priorities in order. Kate smacked her hand to her forehead.

"Let's not bother with the fact you almost died –" He interrupted the beginning of her tirade with a smug grin.

"Trying to save _you._" It didn't help the disapproval on her face, but James was smiling.

"Yeah, we did. Alana got the Snitch moments after you were toted off. She was _angry_." Alana shrugged.

"I don't think angry quite covered it," she amended.

"Will there be a party tonight?"

"Most definitely."

"But you're not going," the new nurse, Madam Pomfrey, happened to enter just then to greet him with an even more disapproving look than Kate had managed.

"Oh come on, I'm fine…" he whined, starting to sit up until Kate dismissively pushed him back down.

"No, you broke your left shoulder blade. It wasn't hard to fix, but you'll be a bit weary. Nowhere near suitable for a party." Sirius summoned up all his inner innocence and put on the best puppy dog face he could manage. Apparently, it had somewhat of an effect.

"But Madam Pomfrey, I just risked life and limb to save fair damsel from certain doom, do I not deserve a bit of a reward in return?" The nurse sighed in clear defeat, but he chose to believe it was the puppy face that had done it.

"Fine. But if I catch you hurt because of it, or that you're falling asleep in classes, Mr. Black, you will regret it." He nodded vigorously.

"How long have I been out?"

"A day. We were waiting til you woke up to celebrate." Kate replied.

"Are you okay?"

"Just a little bruised." She helped him stand, but refused to meet his eyes. James was keeping a careful eye out for any stumbling. _Like the nurse has anything to worry about. The wife'll make me sit out before too long._

"Did you get back in the game? It would have been hard without a Beater." He winced when his shoulder moved, and waved off James' incoming protest.

"Yeah. Pomfrey was way more frazzled about you, and no broken bones. I flew back before she could really say no. By the way, we probably would've won even without Alana turning into an eagle from hell. We made eight goals in six minutes." Sirius' eyes grew wide.

Remus' quiet presence beside them suddenly threw in. "The odd thing _I_ noticed, was that neither Mear nor Bloom was anywhere near a Bludger. Unless they moved fast, I didn't see them hit one toward one of you guys, much less both. They've never been good enough to take out two people. Plus, skill aside, I don't think they're ruthless enough to do something like that. You guys could've died." He paused, gauging their reaction. When they didn't say anything, he went on, "you know my eyesight. I would've definitely caught them going after you, Padfoot, even if I missed Kate. It wasn't them."

"So what happened?" Peter asked timidly, leaning towards Remus.

"I don't know…" He was obviously stumped. They all were None of them had seen the Bludger be hit Kate's way, or Sirius'. Remus broke off from the group.

"I think I'm going to miss the party tonight, I'm gonna go to the library and see if I can figure this out." The other Marauders knew better than to try and talk him out of it. Remus enjoyed a good party every now and again, but he much more enjoyed a logical puzzle, and there was no way he was going to pass up finding out what caused his friends' injuries. They waved good bye as he took a separate hallway for the library.

Remus was rather excited to go the library. He didn't know why, he didn't even _know _her. Even days later, she still had that exciting factor that mystified him. Remus still thought it could be the different theory, that he had never noticed her before, and he wondered how. She was so smart, he found, once he started paying attention to her in the few classes they had. She was quiet, but aced absolutely everything. He was looking forward to talking to her. Maybe if he played his cards right, she would help him.

Sure enough, she was there, at the same table as before. Suddenly he was nervous. What if she hated him? Sure, the book had to have been somewhat of an apology, but it didn't mean she liked him any more than she had before. She maybe wouldn't snap his head off, but there was a difference between violence and dislike. He took a deep breath.

"Avadne?" He tried quietly. Her head snapped up.

"Yes?"

"Can you help me with something?" Her eyes were suspicious, searching his. Finally, they seemed to find what she was looking for. She waved to the empty seats around her. He chose the one opposite from hers, and opened his case.

"Did you see the Quidditch game earlier?" Avadne nodded, but gave him an odd look. The suspicion was back.

"Well see, the - ah, the thing is, we all noticed that neither of the Ravenclaw Beaters hit a Bludger towards either Sirius or Kate. We don't know what happened. I figured you might be able to help. I mean, if you wanted." He was relieved when the corners of her mouth perked up in a small smile. Small, but he'd take it.

She tapped her chin with one long finger. "Well, clearly I'm not the biggest sports fan. But I do know you can't put a spell on the school Quidditch equipment. So if someone wanted to, they'd have to be unbelievably skilled at countering that spell to put in their own. If that's possible, we probably can't find it just laying around the library, but we might be able to find a book that says it's possible…after all, that's probably where the culprit started." She stood up, determination on her face, and started for a certain stack of shelves. Remus followed her. He had come to the right place.

-Head Common Room, a few hours later-

Lily was still out on solo patrolling, and James was just about done. He pulled out the Marauder's Map, and smiled when he saw that she was almost at the end of her rounds. He laid down the final touches and ran into Remus' room to watch. The werewolf was gone, presumably still at the library. He'd run by just before the party died down, and begged him for a favor. Thank Merlin for having a best friend who could provide keys.

Lily turned the corner, clearly worn out. Between the party and late-night patrolling, she looked about to pass out there on the floor. He heard her gasp when she saw the room. Lilies all over the place, the white flowers on the floor spelling, 'I'm sorry'. But before he could get too proud of himself, she angrily muttered a spell, stalked to her room, and slammed the door. James peeked out, distraught when he realized the flowers had been torn to shreds.

Nothing he did worked. He closed the last crack of Remus' door and sagged against it. He was going to have to change.

- The next day -

Breakfast was awkward the next morning for everyone but Remus. James was staring unabashedly at Lily, who fidgeted and tried to eat her breakfast while being as red as a tomato. Even when he eventually gave up trying to get her to meet his eyes, her color didn't change. Word of the flowers had unintentionally gotten around.

Sirius kept making passes at Kate, who valiantly fended them off for her best friend. What she didn't know, was that Sirius was vainly trying to get her back to the same intimacy they had the day before, but it was useless. She was completely closed off to him. What _he_ didn't know, was that she would very much like to be snogging him senseless in a dark, hidden alcove somewhere. Lily wasn't the only reason. As tempting as it was, she didn't want to be just another girl in a broom closet.

To her horror, she actually liked him. That never happened. Particularly for someone like _Black. _He would never like her. Sure, he would like getting in her knickers, but he wouldn't like her as a person. Not like how she found she did him. She liked his silly pranks, his goofy vanity, his ability to come up with a snappy remark on the side. She liked how when he was stressed, he played with the cuffs on his sleeves. She also hated how she knew all that.

Peter was futilely trying to make conversation with anyone. But none of them were having it, and he finally sulked back to his food, poking the eggs around with his fork.

The only one seemingly exempt was Remus. The night before in the library was still on his mind. He and Avadne had had a nice long chat, discussing different possibilities. It was so wonderful to have a friend he could unleash his full intelligence on, and not have them reeling or looking extremely confused afterwards. She was just at his speed.

Though they seemed to end up at the end of the night with different suspicions. Remus thought some Slytherins managed to rework the spell. Avadne thought there was a glitch, since one of the Bludgers had recently been replaced. Although he was in no point of their friendship to demand the truth, he thought she was hiding something. A glitch? Please. Besides, the Slytherins were getting nastier and nastier. All of them looked up, relieved, when McGonagall arrived at their temporarily gauche group.

"Mr. Potter, Black. Ms. White, please come with me." The three players looked at each other, but followed without question. Arriving in McGonagall's office, they were surprised to find two Ravenclaws standing in the room.

"Excuse me, Professor, why are we here?" Kate asked in her politest tone.

"It seems we have discovered the culprits behind the incident that landed one of you, almost two of you in the Hospital Wing." She glared sternly at the two sixth years. One of them was literally trembling.

"It wasn't us, Professor! Sure, we would've liked to have won, but we'd have never done that. It isn't playing fair. One of them could have been killed! " One of the boys protested, a heavy Scottish accent lacing his words.

"I'm afraid we have proof." McGonagall stated.

Sirius, Kate, and James looked at each other.

"It wasn't them, Professor. I know 'em." Kate finally stood up for the two terrified students.

"Ms. White, I appreciate your loyalty, but we have witnesses, and did a wand history and it confirmed the suspicion." The two Ravenclaws cowered.

"They were stolen! Our wands! We found 'em near the Common Room after the game." The same boy spoke back up, as the other looked about to faint. James nodded.

"I believe them too. McGonagall, I don't think they'd try and kill Sirius and Kate, even for a game." The Scottish boy nodded vigorously.

"It's possible their wands were stolen," Sirius allowed, eyeing the boys. McGonagall sighed.

"I suppose…Watts, McKleevey, I have my eye on you. Dismissed. All of you."

After they told him, Remus only nodded. A glitch his hairy backside.

- Hallway, midday -

Remus found Avadne in the dungeons, and caught up to her brisk pace.

"So I think we might have another clue," Avadne said nothing. Tilting his head in confusion, Remus started to repeat himself.

"So I think we might –"

"I heard you the first time." She snapped. Then she said lowly, so even her lips barely moved,

"Will you be at the library tomorrow night?" Remus knew, of course he would not. It was the first full moon of the school year. He had already started to feel sickly.

"No, the guys and I have plans." The words were stiff, and she lifted an eyebrow. He quickly mumbled something about lunch and fled.

Well, now she could take Severus up on meeting him in the Forbidden Forest the next day, even though something inside her said they wouldn't be alone.

- Grounds, a couple hours later -

The Marauders watched, trying to hide their chuckles, as Snape stormed around the grounds. His papers were shooting all through the air, and his books were flapping around his head like irritated birds. A string of creative cursing was coming out of his mouth, as he lunged for a book and missed.

"Tsk tsk tsk. _Snivelly._ Did your mother teach you to talk like that? There are First Years around!" Sirius snickered as three-quarters of the Marauders sauntered around the tree. Well, only half sauntered. Peter rather skipped. Remus stayed, reading.

The books had actually been his idea. Of course though, he was the sole Marauder with a technically unblemished record. His exploits were famous only among his friends, though everyone else knew he participated. There were just never any proof or witnesses.

"What do you want, Black?" Severus demanded, puffing and red in the face.

"Oh, just the entertainment of watching you get your books…without any clothes." Snape looked momentarily confused.

"What-" He found himself without robes, his green boxers displayed for all the world to see.

"Eugh, Merlin, Snivelly. When was the last time you washed these? Get your books and maybe I'll give these back." James dangled the robes as far away from himself as possible, while Sirius made theatrical retching movements and their accompanying sounds. Peter tried to copy him.

Already a small crowd was gathering, laughing at the disheveled Slytherin. James and Sirius smirked proudly at their handiwork. But abruptly, Snape's books were stacked neatly with their accompanying papers, and his robes were out of James' hands and back to being worn. James looked around, expecting Lily to come charging out of the crowd, cursing him the whole way. No Evans. He sighed in relief, just enough time for Snape to gather his books and escape through the gauntlet of jeering students.

Only Remus saw who had done it. He had seen a flash of frizzy blonde hair disappear around a corner of the building.

**- **Later that night, Head Dorm -

Lily looked around, puzzled, for her partner. As little as she thought of James as a person, he never shirked things he promised he was going to do. Which, surprisingly, included Prefect duties. In fact, she had not seen any of the Marauders since lunch. The odd disappearances had been happening for a couple years now. It hadn't been mysterious at first, but when it began getting repetitive by the month, Lily had began to pay more attention. The more she did, the more things seemed to come together.

It couldn't be possible.

That…Remus…no. Not Remus. He was the only decent one! He was the only one that she could stand to be around for an extended period, could have a discussion with. Sure, living together came with the territory, but he was a good person. But the epiphany was coming on like a wave, she couldn't go back. It all made too much sense. The sickliness at certain times of the month, how Remus managed to see everything, in fact, all of his senses seemed stronger. Even the amber eyes. Lily felt nauseous. Was it possible the only 'friend' she had in the Marauders was a … werewolf?

She had to find where they were meeting.

- Late night, a little before midnight -

Avadne stalked away from her meeting with Severus. Ungrateful little prick. Instead of going a little easy on her for saving his sorry, greasy arse, he had scolded her on how he could have handled it himself. Oh, she saw how he was _handling _it. After which, he had then proceeded to reprimand her _again_ for not doing anything to please the Dark Lord. Apparently, he was becoming more and more frustrated with her, which meant her family was too. No. She had to prove herself. Severus said he would inform her of when He would come up with a task for her to complete to prove her trust. As the adrenaline began to ebb, the fear came on.

What would she choose?

The new fear-driven adrenaline propelled her into the Forbidden Forest. Nothing was scarier than the Dark Lord, so she plunged in, frightened, but not of the shadowy trees and mysterious noises. They couldn't do anything to her. She walked deeper, determined to see if the logical side of her mind was right about a little theory. She had to distract herself somehow.

It was almost tangible, the lifting of Hogwarts wards as she crossed the boundary. She took a good deep breath. There was a rustle in the bushes behind her, but she didn't bother to turn and look. Best to get going. She about-faced and Apparated out of the forest. Her parents had insisted on Apparation lessons when she was just twelve. Their excuse was preparedness, in case she ever needed to vanish quick.

She knew it was that if their daughter couldn't get into Slytherin, she was going to have to be better than everyone else at everything.

She popped into sight just outside of Hogsmeade, and looked around to catch her bearings for the Shrieking Shack, and as quietly as possible, darted off for the haunted house. It was so obvious. With only the slightest amount of research she had discovered that the Shack was only recently christened haunted. Recently as in seven years. The exact amount of time a certain student she had in mind been attending Hogwarts. She wondered why no one else had ever made the connection, but then reminded herself of the general caliber of students.

An eerie howl floated through the air, and although she had tried to prepare herself, a shiver went up her spine. She supposed that even as a human, the primal instinct to recognize a predator was in everyone.

Wand in hand, she ventured closer. As she neared the house to get close enough to see inside the windows, she heard a dog's growl, and an odd panting noise that she couldn't place. Carefully, she peeked in a window, and gasped. It was one thing to prepare, another thing entirely to actually see a werewolf. She ducked down in panic, trying desperately to catch her breath. When she was calm, she peeked again, pocketing her wand. There wasn't just a werewolf. There was also a huge, terrifying black dog, and a stag, and a flurry of movement up the stag's leg alerted her to the large rat. The rat appeared to be whispering something in the stag's ear. The realization didn't hit her until it was too late.

_Shit._

The stag turned its head and stared directly at her. It nodded to the dog. Frozen in both fear and shock, she watched the stag, unmoving, exit the house and come toward her. She stumbled back. Then, it started to change. It was actually a bit nauseating to watch, the transformation from a stag to a human boy. A very recognizable human boy.

" _Potter?_"

"Why yes. Hello. You're that Laroche girl, aren't you?" Avadne had never associated Potter with the word threatening. Irritating, yes. Dangerous, no. But he certainly looked dangerous right then, his wand leveled at her chest. She dared not reach for hers.

"So you've found our secret. I trust it will stay that way?" He spoke politely enough, but there was steel there too. She nodded dumbly. He shook his head, and she just realized that he was completely naked. Her cheeks flushed bright red, and she tried not to look. Potter seemed not to notice.

"I'm afraid I don't believe you. I apologize, but I must wipe this memory from your mind." Her eyes widened. She took another step back.

"No! Wait! I -" She stumbled again, and James took a step forward. "I promise I won't tell anyone. If I had wanted to, I-I wouldn't be alone, would I? Besides, who would I tell? Why not let me help you? I'll do whatever I can, you might need someone to stay at the school, I mean, I don't know, just please don't wipe my memory." She was slightly out of breath from her babbling. James looked dubious.

He flicked his wand, and said a spell. Frightened, she felt tears prick her eyes. It was even worse that she had never heard of the spell. He could've done anything to her. Potter lowered his wand.

"Don't look so terrified. Just a precaution. Attempt to tell anyone, and your memory will be wiped," he smiled wryly, "and you'll spout off every embarrassing thing you've ever done." She willed the tears not to spill over, and nodded. Her fists finally unclenched.

"Good. Now stay here, I'm afraid I can't have you leaving. I've got to check with Sirius, and when Remus is back, him too. Promise to stay?" Again she nodded. Again he looked dubious.

"_Petrificus totalus!" _Avadne fell to the ground with a solid thump and a grunt of pain. She had never been more annoyed in her short life.

She heard Potter's footsteps vanish, and another howl. Now she had to wait. But what if Remus got loose of the house? What if he got to her before Potter or Black could stop him? She would be powerless to stop the werewolf Remus from mutilating her. _Deep breaths, Laroche. It's not like you can do anything about it. _She tried counting sheep. And reciting all the Muggle and Wizarding philosophers she could think of, in reverse chronological order.

She was at Aristotle and worrying about what she'd have to list next when she heard footsteps. Four faces suddenly appeared above hers, all thankfully clothed. Well, mostly. Lupin was missing a shirt, and Black looked a little mussed. But at least she didn't have to see anymore naked Gryffindors. Remus was covered in a light sheen of sweat, and heavily leaning on Sirius. She was actually surprised Sirius was able to hold him, with how the werewolf was swaying.

She moved her eyes frantically until James lifted the curse, then actually offered a hand to help her up. She glared, and dusted off the seat of her pants.

"Avadne? I thought James was having a gas. What the bloody hell are you doing here?" Remus sounded awful, she thought. His voice, already raspy in its normal was state, was fluctuating in and out. She had to play it cool.

"I got curious. I knew you were a werewolf." She shrugged, shedding her cloak to get the dirt and twigs off of it next, before she launched the barrage. "How do you guys get back? And how are you all Animagus? How long have you known about the werewolf? Why –" James cut her off.

"We have a tunnel. We did it after extensive research. Yes, it's illegal. Second year. There, now I answered your questions. Our turn. How did you get here, how did you know it was here, and why didn't you run like a normal person?" Avadne rolled her eyes. She saw Remus smile slightly.

"I'm going to work backward here. I wanted to, but I froze. Logic, Potter. I know you don't have it but others do. This is the only place that made sense for him to go as a werewolf. And…well, I suppose since we're sharing secrets, I Apparated." She winced at their unanimous reaction.

"You what?" Sirius cried.

"Even Remus can't do that yet!" Avadne just shrugged. Her upbringing was none of their business.

"I can Side-Along too, would you like me to take him to the Hospital Wing?" Sirius clearly wanted to say no and Peter was too busy staring at her in awestruck admiration, so she turned to Potter for confirmation. He shrugged one shoulder.

"Sure, I suppose. But if anything happens to him, or anything gets out –"

"Yeah, yeah, Potter. I'll have seven years bad luck. But keep in mind that I'm only doing this because Remus is nice to me and I'm curious. We're not friends now." James chuckled. She reached for Remus. Sirius almost looked ready to run off with his friend, but after the coldest glare she had ever received, he carefully transferred the exhausted boy from his shoulder to hers. Avadne resisted the urge to sag under his weight. For being so wiry, Remus was heavier than she expected. She took more time to concentrate, and with a small 'pop', vanished. Sirius and James looked at each other.

"Well that was just weird."

A/N II - Review, review, review! Really, nothing makes a writer's day more than just a bit of response. Hopefully the next chapter will be up within the next week.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N - **Hey guys! My views exploded last chapter, and I really appreciate everyone reading, but special thanks to Sadie for the review! (Who doesn't love Sirius?) Anyway, I had a lot of fun with this chapter and how dramatic it is. Happy reading!

**- **Lunch, Three days after the full moon -

Remus woke up in the Hospital Wing, and was promptly sick. Madame Pomfrey immediately began clucking over him, putting a wet rag to his forehead, and giving him some anti-nausea potions. She patted his hair sympathetically, and Scourgified the bowl clean.

"How do you feel now, duck?" She handed over a glass of ice water and a new bowl to wash his face in.

"Much better, Madame Pomfrey." The potions were slowly settling his system, and after he washed the sheen of sweat off of his forehead he felt close to normal again. Actually, he felt much less exhausted than normal. He usually attributed it to the long ride back on James' back, but he'd had the craziest dream that that wasn't how he had gotten back to Hogwarts…

"Moony!" Sirius knocked over a cart full of towels and bowls in his scramble to run to his friend, where he pounced on top of him.

"Sirius, you're going to make me sick again." Sirius only winked and kissed him sloppily on the cheek, but he did ease off. James and Peter were substantially less excited, and Remus sighed in relief. He would think that Sirius would have gotten used to the whole Hospital thing a couple times a month by now. But of course not, not when it meant giving up his theatrics.

James leaned against his nightstand. "How're you feeling?"

"Pretty good, actually." Remus sat up, yawned, and swung his legs out of bed. Madame Pomfrey kept an eagle eye, but didn't protest, since Remus' natural straight-backed posture implemented itself immediately, unlike the mess he had been the night before.

"Good enough for breakfast?" Peter asked hopefully, peeking from around Sirius. Remus couldn't help but laugh.

"Believe it or not, yeah."

"Wow, so I guess -" Sirius mouthed 'Apparation' to escape Pomfrey's hearing, "- really helped instead of riding on James." Remus shook his head.

"So that was real?"

"Yup. Your little frizzy friend showed up. I had to Body Bind her. I guess you were more out of it than we realized." James laughed.

"So is it going to be a repeating pattern?" His legs were still slightly unsteady, but they held. Sirius handed over the small stack of clothes he had in his knapsack, and shrugged.

"It seems like it did you a world of good not to have to get back manually." Remus nodded in agreement as he stripped off the hospital gown, and pulled his slacks over his boxers. Thank Merlin he didn't have to change _those._

- Three Days Later, Lunch -

Sirius whined low in his throat. His face wasn't visible under the shaggy black mass spread out on the open Potions book. James plopped down beside him.

"Slughorn?" He asked, sympathetically, patting his best friend on the back. There was a muffled slur of words and harumphs from under the hair.

"I don't know how I am going to pass that class," Peter tacked on sullenly. James took it as a chance to be perky.

"Oh, don't worry, Wormtail. I'm sure you'll do fine on the NEWTs." A cheesy grin took up his entire face.

"Really James?" Peter looked up at him, glad to be paid attention to. Remus rolled his eyes and chuckled.

"What're you laughing at Moony?" The black mass lifted just enough to make the question audible.

"Oh, nothing. Only that Wormtail will pass the NEWTs when you're monogamous." He grinned.

"Looks like Wormtail's going to be an Auror, then, because I have every intention of being monna-monoga- whatever. Taken." James snorted with amusement.

"And how many times have you used the broom closet lately, Black?" James teased. Sirius grinned.

"Eight."

"Eight!" Peter cried, but then the food appeared and they were all immediately distracted. Remus started heaping food on his plate. He was significantly less tired this time around, but the hunger after a change stayed the same.

"So, I'm thinking we should start asking our dates to Hogsmeade tomorrow," He looked directly at Kate, who sat a few feet down with Lily and Elizabeth.

"Speaking of which, Miss White, would you accompany me?" Sirius called, and used his best aristocratic accent that all the girls loved, even batting his eyelashes a little playfully. Kate rolled her eyes. Sirius slid down the bench to tack on a puppy face.

"Fine, Black, if it'll get you to stop bugging me." Lily glared, but Kate didn't care. Her stomach was doing somersaults out of sheer happiness. And he was sitting so _close _to her. Her heart started fluttering next, and almost stopped entirely when a warm hand grabbed hers under the table. Beet red, a floating whisper in her ear said,

"Repayment for when I was in the Hospital Wing," The beet developed into a nice cherry color. Sirius grinned. Mission completed. Black and White. That had a nice ring to it, opposites together in harmony. Or they would be as far as he was concerned. Not only was he going to win the bet, it was going to be worth it the whole time.

- Half an hour later; Hallway -

"Lily _please,_" James insisted for the thousandth time.

"No, Potter. You'll never take me alive. I'll die first. Over my dead body. Are the clichés helping any?" James lit up.

"So will your ghost go with me?" Lily harrumphed and stalked away. What nerve! She sighed in frustration. She couldn't stand Potter. Hated him. His annoying pranks, the way he treated people, his magnificent black unruly hair, the way his eyes stared adoringly at her – _What the hell, Lily! It's _Potter _for Merlinsakes! _More annoyed than ever, the redhead stalked away to her Ancient Runes. Unfortunately for her, Ancient Runes was right next to Charms, where she spotted Potter; again. But this time he wasn't waiting for her with another wave of pleading.

He was leaning casually on the wall, speaking to an excited Fifth Year girl who was hugging her books to her chest in flirtatious nervousness. Lily recognized her as a Hufflepuff…what was her name? Bones! Laetitia Bones.

"Will you go to Hogsmeade tomorrow, with me?" Lily suddenly felt herself boil over in anger. Why? Now her stormy disposition had turned hurricane-esque, and she surged toward her Runes class. Potter noticed, and smiled.

"Yes, yes of course!" Laetitia boldly grabbed his hand and dragged him into their class.

By the time Lily sat, she was calm enough to analyze why she felt anger. _I have to be honest with myself. _She repeated over and over, and eventually the mantra wore down her own mental barriers enough to admit the truth. She actually liked Potter. She didn't even know when it started. She supposed she had always thought he would always be chasing her, and she could give in eventually, whenever she could swallow her pride enough to give in. How selfish, she thought. _Now that he's stopped chasing me, I've turned into a jealous, hormonal, pre-teen! Well. I'll just have to return the favor. If he wants to play it this way, then I can be mature too. _From across the room she caught eyes with a handsome Ravenclaw named Allen Keitch. She would win this little game.

- Library, free period -

Remus had convinced Peter to come to the library, as a wingman. Not that Wormtail was horribly skilled at being a wingman. It was just an excuse to have some company. He would send him on his way when he found her. Which happened moments later. _Does she always choose the same spot?_ He thought, as he found Avadne finally, and sat across from her. She eyed him, without lifting her head from her book.

Peter, meanwhile, noted his cue and began his search for an easy target. He knew he would have to play up the fact on who he hung out with. _It's easy, Pete. Drop a few names…act suave. Like Sirius! Ooh, there. She looks easy enough. Nerdy, all by herself…._

"Hello." He said in a vain, poorly attempted confident voice. He tried to put his elbow on the edge of the bookshelf and lean, but it started to wobble so he quickly straightened. The girl looked up and almost grimaced.

"Yes?" Peter found himself phenomenally nervous.

"W-would you like t-to go to Hogsm-meade with m-me tomorrow?" He stuttered out hastily. The girl frowned.

"I _have_ a date, and if I didn't I wouldn't go with you anyway." She flounced off, and Peter seethed with anger and disappointment. Why was it so easy for James and Sirius to ask girls out? Why couldn't he even speak around a girl? It was infuriating. No matter what he did, it was never good enough. Dejected and irritated, he found his way back to Remus just in time to hear in his friend's raspy voice,

"Um…Avadne?"

"Yes?" _Aha, Remus. It's going to happen to you too. See, Peter. It's not just you._

"Would you…do me the huge favor of going to Hogsmeade with me?"_ Ooh nice line there, Moony. Flatter her. She still won't say ye-_

"Um. Sure." The frizzy-haired girl gave a nervous smile. _What the –_ Remus smiled broadly.

"Cool."

- Same setting, Avadne's POV -

_Damn! Damndamndamn. Severus won't be happy with this. Oh, but he's so adorable. Look how happy he is, Ave. Tell Snivelly he can shove it you-know-where. What am I gonna do? I suppose…I suppose I can just tell him it's all apart of a scheme to get close then break his heart. But I'll actually have to do it. Oh well, might as well be happy for a little while._

She was broken out of her thoughts by her companion.

"Okay, so, I'll see you tomorrow? I have to go meet James and Sirius." He gave her a quick smile, and left quickly. Avadne burrowed back into her book, wondering how she was exactly going to explain it to Snape. But she couldn't quite seem to concentrate. Her mind was on amber eyes and messy brown hair.

- The Next Day, Boys' Dorms -

"Well, mates. Three out of four of us have dates. I say we're doing pretty well, yeah?" Sirius looked around and grinned.

James was glaring at him, Peter was moping, and Remus looked to be off in his own dream world. No one responded. Sirius sighed and shook his head, turning away from his friends to push his arms through the sleeves of his shirt. _Gotta look extra sexy, Black. _He buttoned up the white Oxford, and deftly rolled up the sleeves. He already had on the dark Muggle jeans and Chucks that James' parents had given him on his last birthday.

"All right, then. Off to breakfast?" He swept open the door, and made them all file out before them. Even his friends couldn't ruin his mood. Sirius practically skipped down to the Great Hall, and he saw a similar expression on Remus' face. Although, he knew his wolfy friend well enough that Remus wasn't effervescent about it because he was seeing things pessimistically. Sirius knew that as far as Remus was concerned, there was no way a girl would like him, or moreso, that there was a girl in existence he could trust. Well, Avadne knew. The trick was now, being open about it. Anyone could have stumbled upon them in the Shack.

That didn't win the bet for Remus, and he knew it. _Trust_ was the operative word, and so far, only three people truly had that. Sirius was abruptly distracted when they entered the Hall, and James' face transformed. He followed his best friend's gaze, and almost immediately found the cause. Lily was at the Ravenclaw table, kissing Allen Keitch in front of Merlin and everybody. James, not about to be outdone, went to the Hufflepuffs, and did the same to Laetitia. Sirius wanted to bash his head against a wall. Those two were ridiculous.

He took his spot next to Kate, and Remus slid in next to him. Time for a bold move. Sirius reached under the table, and grabbed Kate's hand that didn't hold a fork. He took it, and placed them on top of the table. She flushed, an adorable red cloud that spread from her cheeks to her ears and collarbone. He bet she was beautiful when it snowed.

Remus looked away from Sirius' antics, and over to the Ravenclaw table. Avadne was sitting by herself again. Did she not have any friends? He was half-tempted to invite her to sit with the Gryffindors, or join her at her own table, but he got an odd feeling that she wouldn't appreciate that. So he kept to himself, and turned to Peter, who was way too busy staring with an obvious jealousy at Sirius and Kate's hands between their plates. He didn't even bother trying to create conversation, and tried to covertly keep looking at his date for the day.

While he wasn't looking, Peter slipped a potion into his pumpkin juice.

- Later, Hogsmeade -

"So we'll all meet at three at the Three Broomsticks," James confirmed to everyone. Laetitia was wrapped around his side like she was static cling, but the arm around her was loose, and James' eyes kept darting around, looking elsewhere.

"Yes _sir!"_ Sirius mocked with a playful salute, then grabbed Kate's hand and zoomed off with her.

Remus shyly offered his arm to Avadne, and when she took it, they walked to the nearest bookstore to browse. Avadne even leaned her head on Remus' shoulder, whose ears turned tomato red. James rolled his eyes to his latest date.

"I swear Moony is the most unromantic person ever," He joked. Laetitia batted her eyes.

"It's not the same for you, though, right?"

"Of course not." They strolled on to Madame Puddifoot's. Peter walked by himself to Honeyduke's, excited for the results of his potion work on Remus.

- Remus and Avadne, a street in Hogsmeade -

Remus hadn't felt so relaxed and just _happy _in a long time. He also hadn't been on a date in a long time. The blonde beside him never failed to bring up interesting conversation on anything. He had found a new hobby in noticing that when she got really into explaining things, she'd push up her glasses and wave her arms around like she was acting it out. It was unbelievably charming. How had he never noticed her before? They fit so well together. She was tall and lanky, a little socially awkward, and extremely intelligent, all like himself. He supposed that most of the girls that came into his realm of vision were pointed out by his friends, and James and Sirius would have never gone for Avadne.

"I'm glad you asked me, Remus." She said quietly.

"You're welcome, but you know you're really ugly." _Where the hell did that come from?_

"Excuse me?" She drew away, shocked.

"You look like a horse and smell like one that's been dead for days." Her eyes widened, and she took another step back. Remus continued, having no idea where it was coming from.

"I only asked you out because you were so pathetic, I mean really. Am I your first date ever, or did you even just now get this far in the looks department?" Her eyes started to fill with tears. _Oh Merlin, Remus, shut up!_ He couldn't, though, and a few statements later, Avadne was running away from him, crying. He almost felt like doing the same. He had just ruined the best date he had ever had, and for absolutely no reason.

Remus slumped against the hard stone wall of the store behind him. His watch said two-fifty, but he was in no mood to see his friends.

- A few hours later, Hogwarts Common Room -

"What happened with Remus' girl today? She wasn't at lunch, and he seemed quieter than usual." James asked, taking a swig of smuggled butterbeer.

"He probably screwed it up somehow," Sirius said simply, shrugging.

"Yeah," Peter added, passing out cards for a game of Exploding Snap. His hands shook, but no one noticed.

"But I thought they were getting along so well…" James said resignedly.

"Oh well, there's nothing we can do for him, mate. We just have to help him pull through." James looked crestfallen. He _had _to do something more than that for his friend. Especially since the whole making Evans jealous plan actually seemed to be looking up for him. Remus' situation needed to be too, as far as he was concerned.

- Remus, hallway -

Remus, meanwhile, was walking aimlessly among hallways. He just needed to be away from his friends, and Hogwarts was very good for getting lost. His hands were in his pockets, and he didn't even feel like looking at the portraits like he usually did. Right then, the most interesting thing was the floor. Footsteps echoed in the hall behind him.

"Hey, Lupin. Is that you?" The footsteps were apparently Bert McMillan, who fell into step beside him, puffing slightly from the run down the corridor. The Hufflepuff looked seriously at him.

"Look, Lupin. I know we're not the best of friends, but this morning I saw a potion being put in your drink. It looked like that prank potion that WWW sells. The purple one that makes someone spew insults? Not…not that I've used it or anything…" Remus stopped abruptly.

"Did you see who did it?"

"Yeah, but you're not going to like it." Remus raised an eyebrow.

"Tell me, MacMillan. It's important." Bert shifted uncomfortably.

"It was that kid, Peter that hangs around you guys. He did it this morning. I don't know why, I thought it was weird, but I couldn't find you after breakfast –"

"Thanks, Bert. See you later." Remus' amber eyes were on fire. _I need to talk to James and Sirius _now.

**A/N II – **About the Peter thing, I always thought the dark side of him would start gradually showing as the Marauders grew up. But anyway, review, please? It would really make my day.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N - All right, usually I'm irritated when authors pull the review for updates card. But I know you guys are reading, but no one's reviewing, and that doesn't make me feel particularly motivated to update. So I'm going to ask for ten reviews before the next chapter goes up. I think that sounds fair, and it's a very beneficial relationship. You leave reviews, I update.

-,-

"Avadne!" Remus called down the corridor, lifting an arm in greeting. He was practically desperate to get her to stop, to let him explain what really happened. All he needed was a moment of attention, after the almost three weeks of ignoring him. His heart sped up as she drew closer, but then her shoulder smashed into his and she flounced on.

He had not told James and Sirius what really happened. He wanted to plot his own revenge, without Peter catching on. That was much more Remus' style, defeat his enemies with intelligence rather than a powerful reputation and some brute force, a la James and Sirius. They would confront Peter immediately, and he knew the problem would never get resolved if that happened. Sure, there would be justice, but no real reasoning, and he definitely wanted reasoning.

His friends also had a lot on their own plates, without Peter.. Sirius had actually gotten steady with a girl. And a good one too, although he felt bad for her. Kate had received three death threats, a number of Howlers, and a few too many girls looking like they were planning to kill her.

At first, they were all amused by the tenacity of Sirius' fan girls and ex-broom closets, but then Kate had actually been attacked. She had been walking to Gryffindor Tower, when she had been ambushed by a pack of four girls. The flashing lights from the dueling spells attracted Remus and Lily from their Head duties, and right as Remus rounded the corner, one of the younger girls got in a lucky shot and blasted Kate across the hall. Granted, they were all caught, but that didn't help Kate's sprained wrist from slamming into the wall.

Since that incident, Sirius had talked Kate into taking someone with her wherever she went. Remus didn't blame him. Just because Kate could successfully defend herself against a few Fourth Years and escape unscathed, didn't mean the next time wouldn't be crazier. The Marauders, Lily, and Elizabeth took turns walking with her everywhere. Kate had whined at first, but it really wasn't a lot different. Lily and Elizabeth were already with her a lot of the time anyway, and since Sirius was her boyfriend, Remus hardly saw them apart.

Perhaps it was coincidence, but Peter got the least amount of walk-time. Especially since they all had unanimously put Remus in charge of figuring out all their schedules for Kate to never be alone. He chuckled grimly. If their 'friend' was willing to destroy Remus' budding relationship, who knew what he would do to Kate and Sirius?

- Same time, Avadne -

Tears pricked her eyes when Remus waved. Why did he continue to torture her? The arsehat act had quite done the job on its own. A wave of anger rushed over her, and she spontaneously took advantage of the opportunity to bang her shoulder into his and stalk off. It made her anger feel better, but did absolutely zip for the bitter rejection. Pathetically, she ran to a bathroom to compose herself.

She didn't even know why she was so upset. All the boy had done was reinforce what everyone always said. All she'd ever heard from everyone, parents, family, schoolmates, was that she was unattractive and too smart for her own good. So what happened with Remus was no different. He had just done so a little more elaborately. The color on her cheeks was still a tad high, and her eyes a little shiny, but it wasn't horribly noticeable and she left the bathroom.

Unfortunately, lady luck was not on Avadne's side that day. As soon as she stepped out, Severus was there.

"Were you just crying?"

"No! It's just cold outside!"

"And I thought you were supposed to be dating that Marauder. We wanted him to be miserable remember? Not happy that he broke _you._" She snorted, and the strong desire to slap her old friend arose.

"Well, I apologize Severus. But acting or not, I don't particularly find it enjoyable to be repetitively insulted." She began to flounce off, until to her surprise, Severus grabbed her and pinned her angrily against the wall.

"If you start something, Laroche, you must finish it. The Dark Lord already questions you and you know it." He leaned in closer to her face, and she struggled vainly.

"Either get him back, or come up with another genius plan, or you'll regret it–"

"Avadne!" A familiar voice cried. The Ravenclaw stiffened at the sight. There was Potter, barreling down the hallway. He shouted something that she was too frightened to hear, but Severus went sprawling away from her. Her eyes widened. She turned to run, but James caught her arm. _Not again._

"Are you okay?"

"Fine." She said shortly, aiming for strong. It seemed to come out fine. Then she yanked her arm out of his hand, and ran down the hall. James tilted his head, but dismissed the situation as Avadne associating him with Moony. Chuckling at Severus, he sauntered off, whistling.

- Twenty minutes later, Gryffindor Common Room -

The four boys sat in a circle on the carpet. It was relaxed, but Remus never sat next to Peter, and since it was only a group of four, Sirius and James exchanged significant glances. As always though, they brushed it off in favor of more exciting topics: the Halloween Party. Their Fourth Year, they had brought the idea to Professor Dumbledore, and he had accepted the party as an extra Hogsmeade trip. It was a reward for students, and they also threw a New Years party. Both were held at the enlarged and decorated the Three Broomsticks. That was thanks to James and Sirius' family money, and since it was the last year, they were going all out to make the party as amazing as they could. It was like a coming of age to get invited, and for the three years they went on, it was a huge deal to go to the parties.

They had finished the final touches, and had returned to the school an hour beforehand. Their costumes were lying upstairs on the beds, and dozens of Gryffindors came and interrupted them momentarily to thank them for the invite. Peter was always especially excited to get to answer them with a haughty reply of the more 'I don't care if you come or not' sort, usually resulting in glares from the other three, who remained pleasantly courteous.

Remus was especially vicious to the rat-like boy. James and Sirius looked at each other again. Something was going on, Sirius could practically smell it, and he was just about to ask what when hands covered his eyes.

"Guess who." A voice said near his ear, a faint wave of sandalwood drifted into his nostrils. He smiled.

"I bet I could." Starting to turn around, Kate pouted.

"Oh, but it's no fun now." She kissed his cheek.

"Meet you in the Great Hall at seven thirty?" She checked, as she walked back to Elizabeth and Lily.

"Of course, see you there, Elizabeth, Lily." Lily pursed her lips, and led the trio upstairs to put on their costumes.

"Two more hours, boys." James said, winking. He had seen Lily's eyes flit to him a moment ago. And if he was not mistaken, there was more than her general sassiness toward him about her. He felt a little guilty, but he refused to let that ruin his night, and he turned back to his friends.

- Two hours later, Great Hall -

The four Marauders lounged about the Great Hall, waiting for their dates to arrive. Laetitia was first, producing bouts of laughter as people caught sight of her costume. She was dressed as witch. A scantily clad witch, but a witch, complete with pointed hat and striped stockings. She skipped over to James and clung to his arm, batting her eyes and getting up close. Remus rolled his eyes, as he still searched for a glimpse of Avadne. He hoped she would come. She didn't seem the type to really like parties -she had told him so-, but no one over the age of fourteen ever stayed at the castle.

His search was rewarded when a gaggle of Ravenclaw girls came giggling down the stairs. Slowly, he felt his jaw drop. The lanky girl had curled her hair to shiny waves, and seemed to have temporarily dyed it black. Her patchwork skirt twirled around her legs, and her billowy white shirt actually showed her midriff. Remus was surprised. He sent an especially nasty glare Peter's way.

Sirius wanted to laugh at Remus' expression, but couldn't when Kate, Elizabeth, and Lily finally appeared. Then he did laugh, since Kate matched him piratically. The Marauders were Gryffindor pirates, with gold shirts and red pants. Kate had gone the slightly less tacky route for a red shirt, brown corset, pants, and knee-high boots. Her hair was bound up in a colorful scarf. When she got close enough, she closed his jaw.

"You could at least _pretend _to be a gentleman," She teased.

"I'd rather just stare, thanks." He grinned cheekily as his date rolled her eyes. James' head had snapped over to stare at Lily, in her elaborate, historically accurate medieval dress. Admiration turned to blinding anger when Keitch showed up dressed to match. They looked like the perfect couple. He suddenly wished Laetitia had dressed differently. Lily's floor length gown was much prettier than a naughty witch. Dragging away his jealous eyes to Sirius' grinning face, his best friend said,

"Ready to go mates?" A single chorus of 'yes' erupted, so they exited the school for Hogsmeade.

- One hour later, the Three Broomsticks -

James watched Lily dancing and laughing with that bastard Keitch. He and Laetitia were dancing a few paces away, and his own date was beginning to notice how he stared at the other girl. Finally, the witch left his arms in a huff to find attention. As if in a trance, James wove his way through the crowd to Lily.

"May I steal her for a dance?" He asked, and whether Allen said yes or no, James had no idea. He stole the surprised Lily away.

"What did you do, scare the other poor girl away?"

"No, I'm afraid I was staring at you far too much for her taste." Lily turned a deep red. James smiled.

"I like it when you blush." It was silent for a moment as Lily took that comment in, and James wisely chose to add nothing else.

"Would you like something to drink?" Lily, still red, nodded.

"Sure."

Remus watched Avadne as covertly as he could. She was being a wallflower by herself, sipping a drink and apparently people-watching. He couldn't take watching her anymore, and stood to leave. Parties were never his jive.

Sirius twirled Kate around on the dance floor, her skirt spinning out prettily.

"Look, James and Lily are dancing." He whispered quietly in her ear. Kate peeked over his shoulder and grinned. He spun her again, and she squeaked when she was flung back to his chest. Slightly out of breath, she whispered back,

"Finally." They grinned at each other. Sirius sent a wink James' way, who smiled happily back.

James was beginning to realize that Lily was an absolute lightweight. She was getting clumsier and clumsier. It would be best to take her back to the school.

"One more drink…" She slurred, James raising one eyebrow and smiling amusedly.

"No, Miss Evans. No more drinks for you." She pouted.

"What about…for a kiss?" Her voice was obviously drunk as she leaned forward, but James still had some remains of chivalry.

"No, Lily. Come on, we're going back to the Common Room, then you're going to bed." He half-carried her outside, where he then lifted her up bridal style to trek back through a secret tunnel to the school. He gently set her on the main sofa of the room. There was a lock of hair haphazardly on her forehead. James couldn't resist, he brushed it back, letting his hand linger a moment on her temple. Then his inner gentleman reared its ugly head, and he reluctantly started to pull back, but Lily suddenly grabbed his collar and dragged him down on top of her.

"No, don't go yet…James." James sighed, and sat back up.

"Lily, you're drunk. You need to sleep." He lifted himself up and off of her.

"I feel sick." Her eyes were suddenly scared. James nodded.

"Come on." He helped her to the bathroom, and averted his eyes, holding her hair as she threw up the alcohol in her stomach.

"There, all done?" Digging up a cloth, he wet it and pressed it to her forehead, then carried the now even weaker, even sleepier Head Girl back to the Common Room sofa.

"Evans, you can't handle liquor worth anything." He smiled jokingly at her, and she gave him a tired one back before she drifted off.


End file.
